Book Review: The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.

A beautiful story of finding and losing hope, love, and trust.

Plot

Being a compilation of prequels to the Throne of Glass series, The Assassin's Blade tells the story of Celaena Sardothien before her sentence in Endovier, before her future and her heart shattered.

The book is divided into five novellas- The Assassin and the Pirate Lord, The Assassin and the Healer, The Assassin and the Desert, The Assassin and the Underworld, and The Assassin and the Empire. I liked the progression of the events, building up to Celaena's fateful sentence in Endovier. I also liked how each part contributes to the plot and character development, which made me invest so much feels and made my reading experience entertaining. The transitions between the novellas are also smooth and the story as a whole is easy to follow.

Along Celaena's journey, she comes across a number of people, whose interactions are significant. I feel like each back story will help me relate to Celaena more in the next books. Thus, I'm looking forward to meeting them again as I continue with the series.

I already know what will happen to Celaena because I've read Throne of Glass and I've been bracing myself for the ending so I did not cry buckets. But my heart still goes to Celaena. I kept on replaying the last few scenes in my head (before Celaena stepped out of her wagon to Endovier), and it was just heart-breaking.

Characters

In The Assassin's Blade, Celaena still has her pride up in the sky and makes hasty decisions, especially when her emotions are at play. But her strong personality is something worth mentioning and I liked her resolve to fight for what is right. I also liked that she's confident of her skills and beauty. Haha. She can be stubborn at times, but that makes her more three-dimensional.

In the Throne of Glass, she has somewhat changed but I'm still looking forward to how her character will grow more.

Among the secondary characters, I am especially looking forward to know what happened to Ansel, the Mute Master, Ilias, Yrene, and Arobynn, as well as what their future interactions with Celaena would be like.

And of course, dear Sam… *moment of silence* I may be team Chaol, but reading about Sam, he will always have a special place in my heart.

Writing

The Assassin's Blade is also written in third person perspective, following Celaena. As I have mentioned, the transitions are smooth and the story is easy to follow and understand. The flow of events is interesting and the pacing, just right. Overall, I really had an entertaining reading experience.

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I gave Throne of Glass a 4.5 rating because I was not totally amazed by it. But reading The Assassin's Blade and knowing Celaena's backstory before Endovier, I feel like I will be able to enjoy more and understand more the first book. Thus, I will be rereading Throne of Glass some time this month, and then continue on with the series.

I definitely recommend reading The Assassin's Blade. It's not just an entertaining read with quite a roller-coaster of emotions, but it has many backstories and lessons about trust and hope.

Sarah J. Maas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series, as well as the A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Sarah lives in Bucks County, PA, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for Disney movies and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much tea, and watches an ungodly amount of TV. When she's not busy writing, she can be found exploring the historic and beautiful Pennsylvania countryside with her husband and canine companion.